As the COP29 climate conference continues in Baku, Azerbaijan, environmental groups like Greenpeace Africa are making an urgent call for climate financing for Africa.
With the conference ongoing until November 22, leaders are being urged to prioritize financial support for African countries, which are among the hardest hit by climate change impacts despite contributing less than 2% of global carbon emissions.
This highlights a major injustice, as African countries face extreme weather events, such as droughts, floods, and food shortages.
Greenpeace Africa is pushing for a new climate finance framework that meets Africa’s specific needs.
They are advocating for a New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) to ensure more public climate funding.
The group stresses that this funding should be debt-free to prevent further strain on African economies that are already dealing with high debt.
They also suggest a Climate Damages Tax (CDT) on fossil fuel extraction to raise funds for loss and damage reparations.
The urgency of this call is clear in the recent disasters across Africa. Communities like Mai Mahiu have suffered from severe floods that destroyed homes and livelihoods.
Activists point out that continued fossil fuel use is driving these extreme weather events, which are becoming more frequent and severe due to climate change.
They argue that polluters should be held responsible for the damage they cause. Africa’s need for climate financing is also urgent because many African countries lack access to clean energy.
Over 600 million people in Africa do not have electricity, and nearly 900 million lack clean cooking options.
Despite Africa’s huge renewable energy potential, it receives only a small share of global clean energy investments.
This makes it difficult for the continent to switch to sustainable energy sources and meet its energy needs.
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